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Manchild [TV Series] (2002)

Synopsis
by Hal Erickson

This British TV "dramedy" has been described as "Sex and the City with Men," and allegedly was pitched as such to the BBC2 executives. Each episode dwelt upon the lives of four middle-aged Britishers, who gathered once a week to compare notes at their local sauna. Put simply, the premise was: You may be half a century old in body, but if you're a male you've never really gotten past childhood. The four principal characters were James (Anthony Head), a prosperous, divorced 45-year-old dentist who still doggedly pursued young ladies but was no longer able to "perform" on a regular basis; Terry (Nigel Havers), a divorced stockbroker who had buried himself in his hobbies, specifically fast cars and motorbikes (he also served as the series' narrator); Gary (Ray Burdis), surprisingly still married, who told himself and everyone else that he was happy in his dull, cozy domesticity, but was fooling no one; and the enigmatic, never-married Patrick (Don Warrington), who apparently upheld his lavish lifestyle by selling off his seemingly limitless collection of Beatles memorabilia. Premiering in the U.K. on February 19, 2002, Manchild became an international hit when it was picked up by the BBC America satellite service on April 18 of that same year.